“Yes, I am. I told Eve you had a girlfriend to make it clear you’d moved on. I had no idea I’d stumbled onto the truth.”
“Sorry, but you’re off base. No girlfriend.”
His mom didn’t give up. “So who is she?”
“She’s a girl I’ve gone on one date with, and there’s a decided possibility that will be the only one. That’s it.” He left off the date on Tessa’s couch, because he was pretty sure it didn’t qualify as anything other than a drawn-out misunderstanding.
“Well, keep me in the loop.”
“I don’t think so.”
She laughed so hard she snorted. “Okay, but I miss you. Drop by again soon.”
“I love you, Mom, but no more dropping by. I’ll make an appointment next time.”
He hung up and glanced at the dashboard. It was only three, but he felt like he’d just put in a sixteen-hour day. With traffic, it’d be after four by the time he got back to the station. Maybe he’d just call it a day and go home to crack open his dusty bottle of Scotch. If a man didn’t deserve a night of drinking after a scene like that, when did he?
Never, apparently, because his phone rang a minute later, flashing Simone’s name. Luke didn’t even bother sighing when he answered the phone. “What’s up?”
“Care to interview a robbery suspect?” She sounded downright happy. “Someone got caught with his fingers in the pot.”
“Another robbery? At three in the afternoon?”
“Nope. Patrol pulled over some guy on a warrant, and they found a Donovan Brothers keg in the trunk.”
“No shit. All right, I’ll be there in thirty, and I’ll let you know what I found in Denver.”
Luke hung up and hit the switch to the lights hidden in the grille of his car. As he wove through traffic, all his weariness vanished in the reflection of flashing lights. Maybe he could salvage something from this day after all.
CHAPTER NINE
THE PUNK WHO SLOUCHED over the scarred table of the interrogation room could’ve passed for fourteen, but he was a few years past juvenile hall. At first glance, Luke had figured the twenty-two-year-old stick figure in skinny jeans would confess within five minutes. He clearly wasn’t cut out for prison, and he’d been picked up on a warrant for failure to show on charges of petty larceny. With evidence from the brewery robbery right there in the trunk of his car, this kid was in trouble. Then again, he also wasn’t the brightest bulb in the box. If he hadn’t skipped his first hearing, he would’ve gotten off with time served and probation.
So yeah, the kid was in a bad spot, but he was sticking with his story that he’d found the keg in an alley and picked it up.
“Listen, Tommy,” Luke said. “You go by Tommy, right?”
“It’s Thomas.”
“We’re not interested in you, Thomas. I know the break-in wasn’t your idea. You were probably brought in at the last minute. So who called you in?”
Thomas rolled his eyes.
“I’m serious, Thomas. You tell us who orchestrated the break-in at the brewery, and we’ll help you out.”
“I told you,” Thomas ground out. “I found the keg in an alley.”
“Oh, yeah? And I bet you only picked it up so you could return it for the recycling deposit, right?”
“Come on. Yeah, I wanted the beer, but I didn’t steal it.”
The kid’s hands were clenched into tight fists, making the black dots tatted onto his knuckles stand out.
“All right, Thomas. I have no choice but to get in touch with the D.A., then.” He cut his eyes to the door and Simone followed him out.
“Let me try alone,” Simone said as soon as the door closed.
Luke shrugged. “If you think it’ll make a difference.”
“He keeps eyeing my stomach with an odd look.”
“An odd look like he’s schizophrenic and he thinks the baby’s plotting to jump out and get him?”
Her mouth flattened. “Luke.”
“All right, as long as you think it’s safe.”
Simone went back in, and Luke motioned a uniform to the door before he slipped into the room next door to watch Simone on the monitor.
“Where’s your friend?” Thomas sneered.
“He’s on the phone with the district attorney, discussing your case.”
The boy slouched lower, snorting in false arrogance, but just as Simone had said, his eyes slid down to her abdomen and paused. Simone put her hand to her stomach and let it rest there.
Thomas’s chin jerked toward her. “My girlfriend’s pregnant.” Even over the tinny sound of the monitor, Luke could hear past his bravado to the vulnerability beneath.
“How far along is she?” Simone asked.
“Six months.”
“Have you felt the baby move yet?”
He cracked a smile. “Yeah.”
Simone slipped into a chair, but she kept her hand on the round bulge of her belly. “You look excited,” she said. “Proud.”
“We’re gonna get married as soon as I can find an apartment.”
Her smile disappeared. “But not if you’re in jail.”
“Shit.” He kicked the empty chair, and Luke started to rise, but the chair only shifted a few inches. He was frustrated, not threatening.
“We’re trying to help you.”
“I didn’t do it! I swear to God, I had nothing to do with it. Look, I’d turn over anyone’s name I could if it’d help me, but I can’t. I found it in an alley, just like I said.”
“When did you find it?” Simone asked.
“This morning. I told you already. I was driving behind some apartments checking for stuff people had thrown. Furniture and shit, you know? Stuff for the baby.”
“What’s the address?”
He rolled his eyes. “Crap, I don’t know. It was those apartments on Sixteenth, off of Pearl.”
Simone raised an eyebrow. “Those apartments have security cameras, Thomas. We’ll check them, you know.”
“Good! Check them!”
She nodded and got to her feet. “All right. Let me see what Detective Asher is up to.”
Luke met her in the hallway.
“He didn’t do it,” Simone said.
“Yeah, let’s get those tapes and see who did. Why don’t you ask him if he’ll take a ride and show us where he found it. He’ll do it for you. And let’s get the keg dusted right now.”
And just like that, it was easy between them again. Two hours without an awkward moment as they scoured the alley and harassed the manager of the apartment complex and peppered all the residents for any information they might have. In L.A., this case wouldn’t have warranted more than five minutes of attention, but here a theft ring got his full focus. It felt good. As if they were actually making a difference instead of just cleaning up after violence.
Simone squinted up at the one camera that was pointed toward their part of the parking lot. “Fifty bucks says the owner’s going to ask for a search warrant.”
“Shit. I’m not taking that bet. I’d start the process now, but it’s six. No judge is going to stay late for a property crime. Tomorrow will have to do.”
“You think the angle’s good?”
Luke tilted his head to one side and then the other. “I don’t know. It’ll be close.”
“Yeah.”
The manager emerged from a metal door and gave them the news they’d expected. The owner was someone in California and he was covering all his bases. He wanted a warrant, so there was nothing else to be done tonight.
It was past seven by the time they got back to the station and typed up their notes. Somehow, as Luke pulled out into traffic, he made the decision to stop by the brewery and give the Donovans an update. It was as good a time as any, since Tessa wasn’t likely to be there.
Funny how much relief felt like disappointment.
TESSA WAS ON A ROLL tonight. Every single draw was perfect. The place was busy, but not packed, and everyone was in a fine, mellow mood. Sh
e smiled with real happiness as she dropped off three porters to a table of men watching the baseball game on the corner screen.
On her way back to the bar, a woman touched her sleeve to stop her. “Where’s that cute guy who usually works here?”
“It’s his night off,” Tessa said for the twentieth time that evening. It was always the same. She wasn’t offended. Jamie was a popular tourist attraction. She’d posted on Twitter that he’d be off tonight, so there were actually fewer disappointed faces than usual.
“Hey, Tessa!” one of her regulars said from the next table. “Why don’t you ever wear a kilt?”
“You’re thinking of a schoolgirl uniform, Fred. It may be plaid, but it’s not the same thing, and you’ll never talk me into one.”
Fred slapped his knee and howled.
Laughing, Tessa cleared the empty pint glasses from Fred’s table and shook her head. “You’d better get home. Joyce will toss your dinner in the trash if you’re not home soon.”
He snapped upright and looked at his watch with a curse. Tessa slipped him his bill without another word, then turned and walked right into Luke Asher.
Luke reached to steady her tray of glasses, but he grabbed too quickly and nearly knocked it from her hand. “Sorry,” he said as he put one hand to her shoulder and one to the tray. He frowned. “What are you doing here?”
“Well, I guess that answers the question of whether you came to see me.”
Happy with the flicker of discomfort she saw cross his face, Tessa eased past him. She had to level the playing field, after all. The man had walked out on her last night. After that make-out session in his lap, she was more than willing to give Luke another shot, but there was no reason for him to know that.
Hiding her smirk, she slipped behind the bar and stacked the glasses in the tray that was headed for the dishwasher. She wiped off her hands before turning to find Luke standing at the bar. “Did you come here to negotiate with my brother over the price of my maiden-hood?”
“Jesus, Tessa,” he muttered. The tips of his ears turned red.
“I’m sorry. I’m sure there are still details to be worked out. I don’t want to interfere.”
“I get it. You’re trying to torture me.”
“Is it working?”
He sighed loudly enough that she heard him over the background music and the baseball game. “You’re not half-bad at it,” he said.
“Thanks. You want a beer?”
Luke narrowed his eyes as if he was trying to discern her motive, and boy, did he have a great suspicious look. It was dark and penetrating. Tessa felt the hair rise on her arms. Her nipples tightened. Luke had the whole cop thing down to an erotic art.
“Sure,” he finally said. “I’ll have a beer.”
“You want a menu?”
The creases at the corners of his eyes tightened. “Why don’t you choose for me?”
Oh, a challenge. Tessa cocked her head and let her eyes wander down as much of him as she could see. She took a step back, and returned his narrowed look. “Hmm.”
His left eyebrow rose like a dare.
“All right,” she murmured, and went to draw his beer. When she slid it across the bar toward him, he didn’t look impressed, but he raised it to his mouth.
“India Pale Ale,” Tessa said. “Looks nice enough, but it’s got a bitter kick to it.”
He swallowed and set the glass down hard. His eyes didn’t yield even a glimmer of humor. “Has a bite despite its innocent appearance? I think you accidentally gave me your glass.”
Tessa bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling. “No, mine is the amber ale. Smooth, sweet and pretty. The perfect taste for any occasion.”
His mouth finally softened, and Luke raised his glass. “I’ll drink to that.”
Tessa tossed her ponytail and left him to nurse his drink while she collected Fred’s bill and gave the other tables another quick look.
“So,” she said as she came back around the bar. “What are you doing here?”
“I’ve got a small update. We picked up a guy who had the keg in the trunk of his car. Right now, we don’t think he was one of the people who broke in, but we’re following up on some other details.” Luke reached into the pocket of his coat. “Do you recognize him?”
She looked closely at the picture of the thin boy who stared sullenly at the camera. “No, I don’t recognize him. And he’s young enough to stand out around here.”
“Are your brothers here?”
“No, it’s just me and Wallace.”
“That’s the brewmaster?”
“Yep. Do you want to ask him? He’s usually not here so late, but he has a couple of small batches going. He gets pretty caught up in his experiments.” She leaned close to whisper, “Spicy chocolate stout,” but she was really just looking for an excuse to catch his scent. Mmm. Man, he turned her on.
Luke cleared his throat before edging back to take another drink of his beer. Either he liked it when she leaned close, or he was desperate to get away from her. But considering that he’d willingly accepted a drink and a seat, Tessa decided to go with the former.
“Come on,” she said softly, giving him a secret smile. “Let’s go in back.”
His eyes widened.
“You can have Wallace look at the photo.”
“Oh, right. Sure.” He rose and followed her through the swinging doors. The office hallway to the left was dark, but the kitchen was more than bright enough to see Wallace leaning down to whisper into a girl’s ear.
“Oh,” Tessa said, drawing up short. Luke ended up flush against her back for a second before he stepped away.
Wallace looked up with his standard grouchy scowl. “I’m on my way out,” he grumbled. The girl at his side smiled as if she were looking forward to a treat, at which point Tessa realized the girl was actually a delicate young man whose hair was styled into a straight, dark fall down his back.
Nothing unusual for Wallace.
“Do you have one second?” she asked. “Detective Asher has a picture he wants you to look at.”
Wallace shrugged and reached for the photo. He stared at it for a good long while as if there were thousands of faces to page through in his memory. That didn’t surprise Tessa. The man dated a lot. A lot. He tilted the photo back and forth, then shook his head. “Don’t know him.”
“Thanks,” Luke said.
Wallace grunted, put his arm around his date and they walked out the back door without a word.
Luke turned to her with raised eyebrows. “I had no idea Grizzly Adams was gay.”
“He’s not. Grizzly Adams is enthusiastically bisexual.”
“Oh. That’s… Okay, let’s stop calling him that. It’s affecting my childhood memories. I loved that show.” He frowned toward the door. “Seriously, he looks like a mountain man.”
“I know. And he’s grumpy as hell, yet beautiful creatures flock to him like he’s the pied piper. It’s entertaining, to say the least. I’m not sure what kind of powers he has, but they’re potent.”
He shook his head. “I think I need to finish my beer now.”
“I’ll bet. Sorry we couldn’t help with the picture, though.”
“It was a long shot.”
Tessa left him at the bar to finish his beer while she took care of customers, but her neck burned with awareness that he was there. He hadn’t left. But she’d be damned if she’d make the first move tonight. Still, it was hard not to watch him. He wasn’t anything like Jamie had said. Babe Magnet, he might be, but she’d given him full opportunity to have sex last night and he’d declined. Declined. Sheesh.
Half an hour later, there were only two tables left, and Tessa had time to take a seat next to Luke. “You’re still here.”
“I like watching you work.”
“Oh, yeah? Do I wipe down tables with flair?”
He tilted his pint glass and looked into the last flecks of foam. “You smile at people. You’re nice to them.”
“No, that’s not it,” he said, and left it at that.
Tessa squirmed. “You’re just too used to hanging around criminals.”
Luke set his glass down and turned toward her. “When I’m not around you, I know this is a bad idea.”
Her heart fluttered. “This?”
“I’m too complicated. You don’t need to think about it or figure out if it’s true. I’m telling you straight up. My life is way more complicated than you know. I’m not long-term material.”
“Oh. I see.”
“So you should tell me you don’t want to see me again, Tessa.”
Despite her words, Tessa couldn’t see anything at all. What was he saying? He was warning her off, but he wasn’t leaving. He didn’t want a long-term relationship, but he’d walked out on the promise of sex last night. “I told you I don’t need another big brother protecting me.”
He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. “If I were thinking of protecting you, I would’ve left half an hour ago.”
“But here you are.”
“Here I am.”
Tessa glanced up at the clock and then looked at the few people who were left. One of them signaled her. “I’ll be right back,” she said.
Ten minutes of work, and Tessa was left with two messy tables and a wave goodbye to the last of her customers. She cleaned up, drew herself a half-pint of amber ale and tilted her head toward the pool table. “I’ve got twenty-five minutes before I can lock up. Wanna play a few rounds of nine-ball?”
He met her gaze, not saying a word, as if he were giving her time to change her mind. Then he rose and walked toward the pool table. Smiling, Tessa grabbed some quarters from the till and followed.
Ten minutes later, she was pretty sure he was trying to scrape his pride off the floor. “Damn,” Luke grumbled. “Did you major in pool in college?”
“Oh, please. I work in a bar. And I majored in economics.”
“Really?”
Tessa shrugged. “With a minor in accounting. The brewery budget is a little small for macroeconomics. What about you?”
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